Quick update

First things first. My back is getting better. Having travelled down to my leg, the pain has more or less disappeared only to be replaced by a nagging numbness. This isn't too bad, but if I sit for too long, or walk any distance I tend to develop a limp. No great problem, and I'm confident that another week should see it clear up completely.

Meanwhile we've been having a debate about feeding the fox cubs. As I've previously mentioned we've reduced the feeding a lot, and the way it tends to work out is that the majority of them get nothing from us (just a couple of the bolder ones). This is partly to make sure they don't become dependent on us, but also to encourage them to widen their range. Half a dozen cubs, plus (occasionally) a couple of adults is close to overcrowding in a suburban garden. So we've taken advantage of the football to leave the cubs somewhat more to their own devices for the past few nights to see what happens. Only somewhat though, as they're still very much around as the photos at the end of this entry show.

And what happens is that they gather here anyway 😉 They were hunting May Bugs earlier this evening (which is fine), but as well as the rabbit, there's evidence that they (or the adults) are managing to catch birds, especially those that nest near ground level. So does feeding reduce the number of kills, or does it increase the immediate fox population and have the reverse effect? I'm honestly not sure.

Last year we saw two (or maybe three) cubs at the most, and generally it was just one that visited. The numbers have doubled this year and not all our neighbours will be as comfortable as we are with this. It's not that everyone in the area isn't used to foxes (they are, and are generally very tolerant), just that the immediate population has become that much more noticeable. So encouraging them to spread out in search of food is probably a good idea. It's hard though, as they are incredibly cute at times.

To close, here's some pictures from the past few nights… 😉

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Wednesday's Cub

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Tuesday's Cub

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Monday's Cub

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This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. volkuro

    29 Jun 2006

    Good thing your back feel better. :up:

    I think you do the right thing with food, even if it must be hard as I could imagine.(I'm not sure I could resist feeding Wednesday's Cub) But they are wild animals and they should stay that way.

    Keep on!

    Louis

  2. anonymous

    30 Jun 2006

    SittingFox writes:

    It's probably a good thing to cut down and let the ones who would naturally disperse come the autumn do so, though, I do respect that you are careful not to overload them with food. I wish some folks around here would do likewise. I got a photo of a fox about a mile and a half down the road a few years back which was so obese it could barely walk. 🙁

    Anyway, glad to hear that you're better. Great photos, as always.

  3. gdare

    30 Jun 2006

    Your photos opened my eyes, I have never thought about foxes the same way I do now…

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